In Other Words... aims to synthesize existing research on a range of topics and to present factual information in a narrative both accessible and entertaining. Topics addressed will likely focus broadly on evolution, featuring posts on behavior, cognition, language, and humor.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Obesity Prevention Hangs in the Balance

When you think of obesity, what comes to mind?

Is it disease? Poor diet? Laziness?

What about adaptation?

Consider a 125lb woman and a 250lb man. Who do you think
expends more energy walking from point A to point B?

What if obesity’s just the body’s response to life in an
increasingly sedentary environment?

According to a new review published in US Endocrinology, this
view of obesity has some merit. Obesity isn’t so much the problem, but your
body’s stab at a solution.

Of course, weight loss also requires an energy imbalance: moving
more than you eat. What makes weight loss
so difficult is your body responds very strongly to this kind of imbalance. Not
only are you struck with hunger pangs, but your body actually reduces your
resting energy expenditure to compensate for the decrease in energy coming in.

Why does it do this?

Because for most of human history, this kind of
imbalance—moving all the time to find limited food—was a major problem.

Unfortunately for us modern humans, when you eat more than
you move, your body’s response isn’t nearly as strong. This, again, is the slow
and steady weight gain. Your body requiring you to expend more energy with each
visit to the fridge.

Worldwide, there are 1.1 billion overweight adults. Given
the changes to our diet and activity levels over the last decades, the obesity epidemic
should be even worse. So the human body is
adapting. But we’re demanding a sprint when evolution tends to crawl.

So how can we solve this problem, without leaving our bodies
to their evolutionary devices?

More physical activity.

Ever notice how that friend of yours who exercises every day can
seemingly eat whenever and whatever without significant changes in weight?

Here’s the scientific explanation:

There’s a line in the sand when it comes to physical
activity. Cross it and you enter a zone where—without expanding your waistline—your
body can easily regulate increased intakeà la your Thanksgiving feast.

If you fail to reach that line and you don’t want to upsize your wardrobe, you’ll have to rely on
unsustainable diets (key word: unsustainable).

Here’s an unsavory statistic: over the long-term, one-third
to two-thirds of dieters regain more weight than they initially lost.

As the publication reports, it’s all because human physiology is biased
toward finding energy balance at high intake and high expenditure.

In short, halting obesity requires more than just watching
how much we eat. It requires watching how much we move. Because, while dieting
can help you drop the pounds, physical activity is what will keep you from
picking them back up.

Reproduced with permission from ShareWIK. For more obesity and general health and wellness content, follow them on Twitter @ShareWIK.